[NA] Ariens AMP Rider electric riding mower made in USA

[happypilot876]

Ariens AMP Rider battery-powered riding mower with 34" mower deck.

Asking $1400. I am willing to ship it at buyer's expense.

Currently in Victorville, CA (north of Los Angeles, south-east of Palmdale/Edwards AFB ), but it could also be picked-up in TX (near Houston, see below) after late-November.

I bought this because we had a pretty small yard, and I like interesting technology

It mows very quietly. How quietly? Glad you asked!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1x4TBGdVfU

And I took this video to show how the controls work. Bonus, driver's POV of mowing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB61fzGEM30

It has hydrostatic drive powered by a 4 HP brushless DC motor that goes up to 5 MPH forward, 2.5 MPH in reverse. The mower deck has two 1.7 HP brushless DC motors, each powering one of the blades.

I replaced all of the sealed 12V batteries (four each in (5) 48V packs) with brand new batteries in the summer of 2013, just before we found out we were moving to the high desert of California. So since replacing the batteries it has fewer than a dozen uses. I tested it out the other day and the batteries still hold a full charge. The batteries generally last for around 60 minutes of mowing, depending on terrain, grass length, and moisture.

You can mow with the removable bag attached, or loosen a couple of nuts and go with the regular side discharge.

Also includes a new but unused mulching kit with block-off plate and mulching blades.

The automatic 120V charger recharges the battery pack in 8-12 hours (depending on how far down you run the batteries).

The blade motors cut-off automatically when battery power gets low so you have enough juice to drive back to the charger.

Overall it's in good condition with just a few scrapes and dings. One tab on the rear cover is broken (see next post for a picture of that) but it doesn't affect operation at all.

Currently it is in Victorville, CA so the ideal buyer will be able to drive here and pick it up. The mower easily fits in a standard pickup bed.

If you want to pay for shipping, keep in mind the mower weighs 530 lbs (the charger, bag kit, and mulching kit will probably bring that to an even 560) and is 61" L x 45" W x 42" H.

We are moving to TX (near Houston) in late November. So if you're interested and live closer to TX than CA, I'm willing to move the mower with our stuff and you can get it once we're in TX.

Happy mowing!

-Josh

 

[happypilot876]

more pictures that didn't fit in the first post...

 

[weilke]

How many sqft does this cover on one charge ?

Looks like it would make a great aircraft tug.

 

[overdrive148]

Victorville CA? There's no way this is real, no grass grows there!

 

[happypilot876]

How many sqft does this cover on one charge ?

Looks like it would make a great aircraft tug.

When we lived in VA*if the grass was dry I could usually mow our 0.3 Acre (~12,500 ft^2) yard in one charge. If the grass was damp, particularly high, or both, it would do about 9,000 ft^2 in one charge.

And using it as an aircraft tug is a GREAT idea! The frame is steel and it wouldn't take too much to attach a tow hitch or attachment for your tow bar.

The mower deck removes pretty easily as well, if you decided to make the complete switch to tug.

 

[happypilot876]

Victorville CA? There's no way this is real, no grass grows there!

Well for the past 8 months, yes. But we've had some rain recently, and after a sprinkler programming mix-up, let's just say the grass got a chance to recover a bit...

 

[overdrive148]

Well for the past 8 months, yes. But we've had some rain recently, and after a sprinkler programming mix-up, let's just say the grass got a chance to recover a bit...

Nice! I used to live in Barstow and I did my flight training in Apple Valley. And took classes at Victorville (SCLA). That green stuff looks funny still!

 

[Unit74]

Victorville CA? There's no way this is real, no grass grows there!

Victorville? 50/50 chance it's stolen and 100% chance he's on parole!







J/k OP....... I used to live in Hesperia, so I'm qualified to poke with a stick.

 

[happypilot876]

Victorville? 50/50 chance it's stolen and 100% chance he's on parole!

J/k OP....... I used to live in Hesperia, so I'm qualified to poke with a stick.

Zing! Yeah definitely not stolen, nor am I on parole

 

[Mason]

So, they don't have lawns in Texas?

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

it would do about 9,000 ft^2 in one charge.

So, what are a person's options, when the battery plays out, 1/4mi from the outlet? Or does it give you enough warning that you can always get back? And, I can't always get a vehicle into where I mow to um... boost? it, if car charging is an option. Not a buyer, just interested in how electric works.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

So, what are a person's options, when the battery plays out, 1/4mi from the outlet? Or does it give you enough warning that you can always get back? And, I can't always get a vehicle into where I mow to um... boost? it, if car charging is an option. Not a buyer, just interested in how electric works.

It has a meter. But, even with deep cycle lead acid batteries, if you run it so flat that you can't make it back more than a few times, you won't get much battery life. It's best to recharge somewhere by the time you get 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down.

Other battery chemistries have different quirks.

 

[James331]

So, what are a person's options, when the battery plays out, 1/4mi from the outlet? Or does it give you enough warning that you can always get back? And, I can't always get a vehicle into where I mow to um... boost? it, if car charging is an option. Not a buyer, just interested in how electric works.

If imagine it would start slowing down like most other electric vehicles.

 

[jhausch]

I thought he posted that the blade motors stopped to indicate "return to base"

 

[happypilot876]

Mase: moving to a rental house in TX and the landlord takes care of lawn-care.

Dave Taylor: If you do manage to run completely out of battery, there's a "disconnect" lever underneath the mower to that lets you push it without trying to overpower the hydrostatic transmission.

Light and Sporty Guy: True that; the blade cutoff happens at ~20% capacity, and after a few mows I figured out how to judge whether I could make one or two more passes before getting to that point, or whether I should just head back to the garage.

James331: It doesn't noticeably slow down as the battery % charge drops, until of course you get to the cutoff point

 

[Chip Sylverne]

A riding lawnmower for .3 acre?
Really? Did you have enough room to turn around?

 

[weilke]

So, what are a person's options, when the battery plays out, 1/4mi from the outlet? Or does it give you enough warning that you can always get back? And, I can't always get a vehicle into where I mow to um... boost? it, if car charging is an option. Not a buyer, just interested in how electric works.

9000sqft is 1/5th of an acre. On your typical residential lot, you won't be further than 100ft from your garage or shed to plug it in.

When I grew up we had a battery powered push-mower. It inherited the cars starter batteries whenever they got too weak to crank in the winter. They would do well for another 3 years on the mower before they got traded as core for the next car battery. Same thing, it did the entire yard in one charge with dry grass, with wet or tall grass you needed to re-charge.

 

[weilke]

A riding lawnmower for .3 acre?
Really? Did you have enough room to turn around?

It doesn't seem much larger than a push mower but is probably a lot heavier due to the batteries.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

9000sqft is 1/5th of an acre. On your typical residential lot, you won't be further than 100ft from your garage

Thanks - you are right.
I had in my mind my 1500' x 40' strip of trees where I am sammiched between fence and impassable wildness, & a truck can't get to all locations. I have pushed my gas mower out of there and just wondered how the electric would fare.

 

[happypilot876]

A riding lawnmower for .3 acre?
Really? Did you have enough room to turn around?

Yes I started out with a push mower but it took a fair amount of time to mow the whole yard, and I perhaps shortsightedly didn't hire a lawn service.

I was researching riding mowers when I came across the AMP Rider and thought it was cool. When I found one for a good deal (less than the original >$3000 asking price) I jumped on it.